November Gratitude

Got Gratitude?

With the contentious election behind us, it’s time to find ways to embrace the future that are not politically oriented. Here is one opportunity to consider:

This November we observe National Gratitude Month, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

Gratitude is more than simply saying “thank you”, according to Stacey Grewal (Grateful Planet) who made sure this particular focus during the Thanksgiving month was proclaimed by the Registrar at National Day Calendar last August.

Those of us who have practiced being grateful know what it can do to improve the tenor of our lives. With it we can be released from stress about what is not and be better able to pay attention to the ‘good’ that exists for us each day. This, in turn, generates a greater appreciation for others as well as ourselves. Sometimes the small things - the cancelled appointment that gives us a few extra moments to ourselves, the laugh with a stranger in the grocery story - become the pivotal moment of our day. For most of us, it can be the force that keeps hope alive, that tells us it will all be okay. And this is what helps us to maintain a more balanced perspective of what we experience.

Research has proven that our well-being can be bolstered by an attitude of gratitude. Studies show that people who are grateful tend to be more ‘up to being” fit emotionally, spiritually, and physically. That, of course, can translate into a greater joy in living. And, I know from experience that can be contagious. Definitely, the kind of bug I want to catch and spread whenever possible.

For those who are interested, here are a few gratitude websites I recently came across. I’m hoping any one of them will keep your gratitude gauge as full as you’d like it to be.

Get Gratitude

30 Day Global Gratitude Experiment

Unstuck

Gratitude Might Change Your Brain

J. Dietrich Stroeh is author of Three Months: A Caregiving Journey from Heartbreak to Healing (FolkHeart Press) and three free e-books. For more information, click here.